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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


SILENT  LOVE. 


SILENT    LOVE. 


A   POEM. 


FIRST   AMERICAN 

FROM   THE 

FOURTH   ENGLISH    EDITION. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

ROBERT    H.   BALL. 

1  S  7  7. 


SILENT    LOVE. 


"  O  man  e'er  loved  like  rae.     When  but  a  boy 

!p^    Love  was  my  solace  and  my  only  joy ; 

It-  mystic  influence  fired  my  tender  soul, 

And  held  me  captive  in  its  soft  control ! 

By  night  it  ruled  in  bright  ethereal  dreams, 

By  day  in  latent,  ever-varying  themes, — 

In  solitude,  or  'mid  the  city's  throng, 

Or  in  the  festal  halls  of  mirth  and  sono;, — 

Through  loss  or  gain,  through  quietude  or  strife, 

This  was  the  charm,  the  heart-pulse  of  my  life. 

1*  5 

904250 


6  SILENT    LOVE. 

While  age  has  not  subdued  the  flame  divine, 
A  votary  still  I  worship  at  the  shrine ! 
When  cares  enthral,  or  when  the  soul  is  free, 
"Tis  all  the  same.     No  man  e'er  loved  like  me ! 

jtJTi !  SHE  was  young  who  won  my  yielding  heart; 
Nor  power  of  poesy,  nor  the  painter's  art, 
Could  half  the  beauties  of  her  mind  portray, 
E'en  when  inspired,  and  how  can  this  my  lay? 
Two  eyes  that  spoke  what  language  ne'er  can  do, 
Soft  as  twin- violets  moist  with  early  dew ! 
And  on  her  cheeks  the  lily  and  the  rose 
Blent  beauteously  in  halcyon  repose ; 
While  vermil  lips,  apart,  reveal'd  within 
Two  rows  of  pearls,  and  on  her  dimpled  chin 
The  Graces  smiled ;  a  bosom  heaved  below 
Warm  as  the  sun,  but  pure  as  forest  snow ; — 


SILENT    LOVE.  i 

Her  copious  ringlets  hung  in  silken  trains 
O'er  alabaster  streak'd  with  purpling  veins  ; — 
Her  pencill'd  eyebrows  arching  fair  and  high 
O'er  lids  so  pure  they  scarcely  screen'd  the  eye ! 
A  form  symmetral,  moving  forth  in  grace 
Like  heaven-made  Eve,  the  mother  of  our  race ; 
And  on  her  brow  benevolence  and  truth 
^rere  chastely  throned  in  meek,  perennial  youth, 
While  every  thought  that  had  creation  there, 
But  made  her  face  still  more  divinely  fair, 
And  every  fancy  of  her  soul  express'd 
On  that  fair  margin  what  inspired  her  breast, 
Pure  as  the  sunbeams  gild  the  placid  deep, 
When  zephyrs  close  their  wings  in  listless  sleep. 

^fonis  maiden  Avon  my  heart;  O!  is  it  vain 
To  say,  perhaps  hers  was  return'd  again  ! — 


8  SILENT    LOVE. 

To  say,  she  read  the  language  of  my  eyes, 

And  knew  my  thoughts  unmingled  with  disguise ! 

Is  it  too  much  to  say  that  eyes  reveal 

What  words  in  vain  but  struggle  to  conceal, — 

That  silent  love  is  not  far  more  sincere 

Than  vaunting  vows — those  harbingers  of  fear ! 

Deep-rooted  veneration  breathes  no  sound  ;  — 

Back,  mortals,  back,  ye  stand  on  holy  ground  ! 

Hid  in  the  heart's  recess,  like  precious  ore, 

It  lies  in  brilliant  beauty  at  the  core ! 

Or,  as  the  moon,  sweet  empress  of  the  night ! 

Reflecting  gives  in  modest  mellowy  light 

The  sun's  refracting  rays — her  destined  part — 

So  genuine  feeling  steals  from  heart  to  heart ! 

Laugh  not,  ye  sordid  sons,  ye  beings  cold, 

Who  measure  all  your  greatness  by  your  gold, — 


SILENT    LOVE.  9 

Whose  marble  bosoms  never  once  could  feel 
What  friendship,  love,  and  sympathy  reveal ; 
Learn  but  one  truth,  'twill  not  reduce  your  stores, 
Love  higher  than  your  gilded  riches  soars, 
Your  demi-god  a  meaner  thing  must  be 
Than  Cupid  proves.     No  man  e'er  loved  like  me ! 

pJ^hink  not  a  glance  too  transient  to  destroy 
The  calmness  of  the  mind  with  mingled  joy, — 
Judge  for  yourselves,  but  make  no  stricturas  here, 
Set  no  mean  limits  to  its  hope  and  fear. 
Many  could  tell,  if  they  but  had  the  art, 
The  stirring  power  with  which  it  throbs  the  heart; 
Thrills  every  nerve,  pursues  through  every  vein 
Its  path  electric  till  it  fires  the  brain, — 
And  trembling  there  like  needle  to  the  pole, 
Strange  blushes  rise  in  crimson  from  the  soul ; 


10  SILENT    LOVE. 

The  heaving  breast  in  respiration  free, 
Convulsive  feels  with  innate  ecstasy. 

jtgUT,  then,  that  glance  was  quickly  stolen  away, 
Love  needs  nor  books,  nor  orator's  display  ! 
Fleet  as  the  meteor's  flight  across  the  sky, 
Is  beauty's  bright  and  love-revealing  eye ; 
But,  as  it  passes,  like  the  meteor  too, 
Can  kindle  thoughts  which  time  may  ne'er  subdue; — 
Can  raise  a  living  passion  in  the  soul, 
A  sage's  prudence  never  could  control — 
Arouse  the  dormant  senses  of  the  heart, 
And  make  it  feel  acute  in  every  part — 
Give  softer  language  to  the  aqueous  eye, 
And  make  it  roll  in  silence  on  the  sky, 
Till  the  expanding  soul's  refining  thought. 
A  marvellous  sensibility  has  caught — 


SILENT    LOVE.  11 

So  keen,  so  calm,  so  tender,  and  so  kind, 
That  earthly  cares  are  scattered  to  the  wind  ! 

mp  each  fond  look  was  fraught  with  feverish  pain, 
That  but  renew'd  the  deathless  hope  again  ! 
<  'reating  sweetest  charms  and  raptures  gay, 
That  stole  the  stillness  of  my  soul  away  ! 
Then  came  deep  nights  of  doubt  and  darkness  on, 
When  man  is  left  contemplative  alone; — 
When  fond  philosophy  usurps  her  reign, 
Striving  to  have  her  sovereign  sway  again. 
But  all  is  nought  when  love  pervades  the  breast, 
What  can  reduce  the  feelings  down  to  rest  ! 
The  dimpled  god  will  still  direct  each  dart, 
With  all  his  archful  meaning,  at  the  heart, — 
Laughs  when  he  sees  you  strive  to  thwart  his  aim, 
And  stirs  anew  the  embers  of  the  flame  ; 


12  SILENT    LOVE. 

Retires,  returns  with  face  of  lively  joy, 
And  still  delights  in  transports  to  annoy. 
Riches  and  power,  ye  have  no  golden  art, 
Where  shines  the  lighted  censer  of  the  heart ! 
Fame  and  its  passions  hurriedly  decay, 
For  all  is  love,  and  love  will  have  his  way ! 
But,  oh  !  when  fate's  stern  mandates  disapprove, 
Then  keenest  are  the  burning  darts  of  love, 
The  heart  that's  bound,  then  struggles  to  be  free, 
A  pensive  bird  in  sweet  captivity. 

IgfciCK,  sick  at  heart,  o'ercome  with  doubt  and  woe, 
My  tears  would  gush  like  urns  that  overflow ; 
Aloud  have  I  chastised  my  cherish'd  fear, 
And  deem'd  my  love  lack'd  power  to  be  sincere ! 
So  does  the  timid  fawn,  on  yonder  hill, 
In  love  and  leisure  wander  at  his  will, 


SILENT   LOVE.  13 

Till  gazing  on  the  lordly  face  of  men, 
He  starts  and  springs  in  terror  to  his  den  ; 
For  love's  a  coward,  even  a  very  slave, 
While  boldness  often  fires  the  basest  knave; 
And  sadness,  tears,  and  sickness  could  but  be 
Its  inward  strength,  my  soul's  perplexity. 

(JLnrs  did  I  feel  and  murmur  when  alone, 
And  said,  this  world's  cold  heart  is  hard  as  stone; 
'Twas  error  this,  methinks  I  hear  you  say, 
For  there  are  hearts  whose  kindness  ne'er  decay  ! 
That  I  was  misanthropic  so  to  feel, 
And  but  my  heart,  no  other  heart  Mas  steel. 
I  know  the  world — have  suffer'd  too,  its  scorn, 
And  many  treacherous  calumnies  have  borne ; 
Borne  them  in  silence — to  refute  the  same, 
Had  added  new  insult  upon  my  name ; — 


14  SILENT    LOVE. 

Seen  the  malicious  smile,  and  envy  too, 

Strive  all  my  dearest  actions  to  undo, 

And  though  inspired  to  do  them  aught  but  wrong, 

Have  known  them  sneer  in  malice  on  mv  song. 

Why  all  this  spleen — whence  all  this  vain  desire? 

To  strew  the  path  with  thorns  where  we  aspire ; 

Striving  to  teach  the  world,  with  none  avail, 

The  poet's  strain  a  mere  fictitious  tale. 

Vain  thought !  he  dips  his  pencil  in  the  light 

Of  rainbow  tints,  that  suit  his  muse's  flight ; 

Explores  the  hid  recesses  of  the  heart, 

And  feels  in  truth  the  essence  of  his  art ! 

'Tis  dread  of  overreach ing  them  in  thought. 

Scarce  worth  the  having,  'tis  so  dearly  bought ! 

And  this  is  man,  to  load  with  low  disdain 

A  life  of  labour,  mingled  else  with  pain ; 


SILENT   LOVE.  15 

Then  frown  not,  world,  though  wiser  far  ye  be, 
Ami  colder  too.     No  man  e'er  loved  like  me! 

I )  it  on  the  peopled  streets,  where  mingled  din 
Disturbs  the  mind,  whose  thoughts  are  turn'd  within, 
In  haste  emerging  from  the  moving  throngs, 
Where  every  face  portrays  its  inward  wrongs  ! 
We  two  have  met,  then  through  my  troubled  heart 
The  sudden  glance  has  pierced  me  like  a  dart; 
My  frame  grown  paralyzed,  my  eyes  cast  down, 
As  when  a  child  receives  a  father's  frown. 
All !  then,  for  hours  I've  struggled  in  dismay, 
Unfit  to  follow  on  her  hallow'd  way, 
To  watch  her  steps,  perchance  to  hear  her  voice, 
Which  would  have  made  my  very  soul  rejoice; 
Then  all,  unnoticed,  friend  or  foe,  pass'd  by 
Without  the  recognition  of  mine  eye  ; 


16  SILENT    LOVE. 


» 


The  world,  and  all  its  inharmonious  sound, 
Silenced  and  seal'd  in  musings  most  profound, 
Till  startled  into  life,  roused  from  the  theme, 
I  would  awake  like  sluggard  from  a  dream, 
And  gazing  round  in  stupor  and  surprise, 
First  on  the  earth  and  then  upon  the  skies — 
Myself  I  would  upbraid  most  piteously, 
And  still  exclaim — No  man  e'er  loved  like  me ! 

(hat  fann'd  the  flame  and  made  it  brighter  glow? 
A  power  within,  which  Stoics  never  know  ! 
Perchance  we  often  met — I  say  not  where, — 
But  where,  alas !  no  words,  but  glances  were. 
And  then  electric  magic  from  each  glance 
Stole  through  my  bosom  like  a  burning  lance ; — 
Spoke  to  my  spirit  with  a  spirit's  voice, 
And  made  my  soul  in  ecstasy  rejoice ! 


SILENT   LOVE.  17 

A  soft  benignity  of  look  was  there, 
A  gleam  of  joy,  a  shadow  of  despair, 
As  fleecy  clouds  that  glide  o'er  Luna's  faee, 
But  scarcely  dim  a  portion  of  her  grace, 
Peopling  my  brain  with  new  created  themes, 
That  only  lover  knows,  or  poet  dreams ; — 
Pour'd  noontide  beams  of  glory  o'er  my  soul 
In  light  ethereal  with  divine  control, 
And  hopes  too  high,  too  holy  e'er  to  be 
Knjoy'd,  o'ercame  me  with  sublimit}- ! 

$  knew  her  home,  and  often  pass'd  that  way, 
Sure  as  the  sun  perform'd  his  course  each  day ; 
Then  at  her  lattice,  beaming  like  the  morn, 
I  saw  the  maid  that  made  my  heart  forlorn ; 
Though  by  this  heavenly  hope  the  spell  was  rear'd, 
Our  mutual  prudence  declaration  fear'd  ; 

2*  15 


18  SILENT   LOVE. 

Yet  could  I  mark  her  straining,  longing  eyes, 

Beam  like  twin  stars  through  partly-shrouded  skies. 

Scoff  not — for  years  I  still  pursued  this  art, 

In  hopes  to  wile  the  angel  to  my  heart ; 

In  hopes  to  meet,  to  breathe  the  latent  spell, 

And  if  unkind,  to  sigh  and  say  farewell ! 

Such  things,  I  said,  have  been,  and  still  may  be, 

One  only  holds  futurity's  gold  key. 

(IjJ) !  if  the  gods  live  on  ambrosial  food, 
Bv  mortals  named,  nor  seen,  nor  understood — 
So  hope  unseen  by  any  eyes  save  mine, 
Fed  my  young  heart  with  nutriment  divine  ! 
Rear'd  me  to  feel  with  glowing  soul  of  joy 
The  charms  of  love,  though  otherwise  a  boy.' 
The  cup  was  sweet,  I  drank  its  deepest  drop, 
And  still  relied  on  never-dying  hope. — 


SILENT   LOVE.  19 

O  Hope !  thou  sweet  deceiver  of  the  world  ! 
Thy  banner  is  too  temptingly  unfurl'd — 
How  many  seek  thy  phantom  form  to  trace, 
Till  sorrow  clouds  the  sunshine  of  the  face! 
Led  on  and  on  by  thy  delusive  sway, 
Till  youth  and  beauty  languish  both  away, — 
Till  undeceived,  we  murmur,  but  in  vain — 
For  who  can  turn  to  youth's  gay  morn  again ! 
Ah  me !  if  I  should  own  thy  sov'reign  power, 
Who  dares  to  blame?     See  buds  in  every  bower. 
Whose  lives  are  like  to  man's,  a  fleeting  day — 
Nursed  up  in  hope  to  blossom  and  decay ! 
Rear'd  by  the  dewy  smiles  of  laughing  morn, 
Behold  the  rose  adorn  its  native  thorn, — 
At  mid-day  throwing  forth  its  rich  perfume, — 
At  evening  bending  sadly  o'er  its  tomb, 


20  SILENT    LOVE. 

Yet  in  its  death  a  fragrance  leaves  behind, 
Like  retrospective  thoughts  within  the  mind  ! 

(MjETHiNKS  I  see  some  aged  cynic  smile, 
And  say,  thou  art  the  dupe  of  thine  own  guile- 
Your  actions  could  no  better  end  declare, 
For  foolishness  must  always  bring  despair ! 
Pshaw  !  simpletons,  your  greatest  wisdom  lies 
In  the  mean  leer  that  lurks  about  your  eyes, — 
In  the  deceitful  grin  that  clothes  your  cheek, 
In  the  slow  accents  of  your  language  sleek  ; 
Your  life  is  spurn'd,  and  so  your  pedigree, 
And  self-esteem.     No  man  e'er  loved  like  me  ! 


)HE  was  a  child  when  first  our  glances  met 
Now  womanhood  upon  her  brow  had  set ; 
Still  look'd  she  lovely,  lovelier  than  before  ! 
A  creature  every  eye  might  well  adore, 


SILENT   LOVE.  21 

At  least  I  thought  so — love  may  have  the  power 
To  make  the  meanest  weed  appear  a  flower, — 
Look  through  a  medium  always  soft  and  kind, 
Like  distant  landscapes  pictured  on  the  mind  ! 
Love  gazes  through  a  focus  of  its  own, 
To  other  eyes  unseen  and  all  unknown ; 
So,  if  she  still  was  lovely  to  my  eye, 
What  should  I  care  though  all  her  charms  decry, 
I  scarcely  wish'd  that  other  eyes  should  see 
Her  chasten'd  worth,  for  she  was  all  to  me ! 

,H   sacred  Love!  how  innocent  art  thou  ! 
No  malice  sits  on  thy  devoted  brow — 
No  discord  jars  the  strings  around  thy  heart ; 
Thou  art  an  heavenly  feeling,  every  part ! 
No  earthly  lusts  pollute  thy  chasten'd  name, 
These  are  consumed  to  embers  in  the  flame  ! 


22  SILENT    LOVE. 

In  all  the  strange  arcana  of  the  mind, 

Nought  but  their  merest  dust  is  left  behind. 

A  brighter  and  more  glorious  spirit  reigns — 

A  livelier  current  circles  through  the  veins, 

New  thoughts,  new  fancies,  hopes,  and  chaste  desire, 

With  varied  joys,  that  never,  never  tire! 

Sweet  inspiration,  with  its  wondrous  charm, 

Like  power  magnetic,  draws  the  soul  from  harm ; 

Yet,  ever  mingled  with  incessant  fear, 

Our  joys  partake  the  moisture  of  a  tear ; 

Since  first  of  time  it  has  been  so,  'twill  be 

While  life  holds  on,  its  marvellous  mystery. 

No,  thus  inspired,  I  chose  her  as  my  muse, 
No  better  goddess  could  my  bosom  choose ! 
The  heathens  had  their  deities,  but  she 
Was  less  obscure,  and  more  divine  to  me : 


SILENT    LOVE.  23 

But  still  in  song  I  never  breathed  her  name, 

Fearful  my  feeble  verse  might  cause  her  .-hame — 

Fearful  that  such  a  liberty  might  chase 

The  partial  smile  of  favour  from  her  face. 

Fearful  the  sneering  world  too  might  know 

The  favourite  maid,  who  caused  mv  latent  woe, 

And  by  the  idle  mouth  of  rumour  quell 

The  fervid  spirit  of  a  cherish'd  spell. 

No  confidant  had  I,  such  I  disown ! 

Mine  was  a  secret  never  to  be  known. 

Nature  had  thrown  her  fairest  robes  away, 

To  weep  in  sackcloth  on  that  fatal  day  ! 

Deep  in  my  breast  I  treasured  and  revered 

That  holy  word,  and  there  its  tendrils  rear'd ; 

It  never,  never  shall  in  utterance  be 

A  vulcrar  sound.     No  man  e'er  loved  like  me! 


24 


SILENT   LOVE. 


§hat's  in  a  name  ?   "  A  rose  would  smell  as  sweet 
By  any  other,"  is  a  trite  conceit ! 
Names  give  abhorrence  if  they  are  unkind, 
A  pain,  a  leprous  feeling  to  the  mind ! 
Names  that  are  wed  to  deeds  of  base  desire, 
Set  holy  feelings  in  the  breast  on  fire ; 
Association  lingers  in  the  sound, 
The  sore  long  cured  becomes  a  second  wound ; 
Sad  retrospection  wakens  up  anew 
Perhaps  the  pains  of  one  who  was  untrue, 
Where  kind  oblivion  had  her  olive  huno- 
In  gentle  peace  to  ease  a  bosom  wrung. 
There  is  a  secret  something  that  controls 
With  spectra]  gloom  our  never-slumbering  souls  ; 
We  look  aghast,  and  struggle  to  conceal 
The  shock,  that  might  a  thousand  truths  reveal, 


SILENT    LOVE.  25 

Ami,  as  i lie  recollection  fades  away, 
So  sunbeams  fall  upon  our  dark  dismay  ; 
The  branchy  streams  of  life,  a  moment  still, 
Resume  their  course  and  mitigate  the  ill. 
"  What's  in  a  name?"  I  can  too  plainly  tell! 
A  wondrous,  inward-working,  sacred  spell, 
That  wheresoe'er  one  name  escaped  man's  lips, 
My  spirit  rose  from  out  its  dark  eclipse, 
And  in  the  Sacred  book  I  often  found 
The  impress  dear  with  heavenly  halo  bound  ! 
And  angel  forms  scem'd  whispering  in  mine  ear 
The  accents  of  the  name  I  loved  so  dear. 
O !  when  I  met  with  one  who  own'd  the  same, 
My  heart's  pulsations  quicker  went  and  came; 
All  other  thoughts  were  banish'd  by  the  sound; 
My  filming  eyes  fix'd  thoughtful  on  the  ground  ; 
b  3 


26  SILENT    LOVE. 

Silence  has  bound  my  tongue  and  chain'd  my  feet, 
Struck  by  the  accents  of  a  sound  so  sweet, 
And  those  around  have  whisper'd  in  mine  ear — 
Wherefore  arises  that  instinctive  tear  ? 
Wherefore  ?     Ah  !  let  none  save  an  angel  speak 
In  strains  celestial  and  serenely  sweet ! 
An  heavenly  feeling  fill'd  my  conscious  heart, 
Like  fancied  music  which  the  spheres  impart ; 
No  earth-taught  tongue  could  in  its  might  disclose 
The  eloquence  it  pour'd  upon  my  woes ; 
Even  heard  from  children  in  their  wanton  glee, 
'Twas  youth-renewing  ecstasy  to  me. 

(g^HAT  time  I  went  to  rest,  what  time  I  rose, 
My  mind  was  throng'd  with  all  these  joys  and  woes, 
'Mid  sunlit  scenes,  in  sylvan  beauty  green, 
When  morning  minstrels  sung  the  leaves  between ; 


SILENT    LOVE.  27 

Methought  I  heard  them  chant  in  rapturous  tone, 
Get  wed  !  get  wed!  why  languish  thus  alone? 
Or  when  the  glorious  sun  roll'd  down  the  west, 
And  clouds  lay  lambent  in  their  golden  rest; 
Or  when  cool  evening  wept  her  dew  on  flowers, 
To  quench  their  thirst  and  spangle  dsedal  bowers, 
There  was  no  change — the  pure  ethereal  theme 
Felt  no  exhausted  fondness  in  its  dream, 
But  reign'd  and  ruled  an  empress  glad  and  free, 
With  boundless  sway,  in  endless  monarchy. 

1  w  as  absence,  like  a  spell,  that  chiefly  bound 
My  captive  heart  with  firmer  irons  round. 
Absence,  thou  cheat  of  sight,  thou  more  than  blind 
And  dark  deceiver!  wherefore  so  unkind, 
To  hide  that  heaven  on  earth  I  long'd  to  see? 
O  sightless  eyes  !     No  man  e'er  loved  like  me  ! 


28  SILENT    LOVE. 


pJb)HROUGH  shadowy  glade,  or  by  meandering  rill, 
Where  all  but  Nature's  eloquence  is  still, 
I,  in  the  depth  of  uncontroll'd  despair, 
Address  my  sorrow  to  the  soft-ear'd  air. 
O  loved  one  of  my  bosom  !  gentlest  maid  ! 
Say,  have  I  e'er  thy  tender  truth  betray 'd  ? 
Does  pensive  silence  wound  thy  heart  like  mine, 
Or  has  oblivion  seal'd  the  charm  divine? 
Have  Lethe's  waters,  pouring  o'er  thy  mind, 
Sunk  all  the  varying  passions,  once  so  kind  ? 
Or  was  I  wrong  to  look  for  love  return'd, 
Though  wildly  and  sincere  this  bosom  burn'd  ? 
Alas !  wThat  reasons  ever  can  explain 
Such  soul-consuming  and  unspoken  pain  ? 
A  mutual  mingling  of  two  sprites  above 
Can  only  give  a  semblance  of  my  love! 


SILENT    LOVE.  -'•' 

££  woman!  woman!  ever  true  and  kind, 
Thou  sweet  perfection  of  the  gentle  mind! 
Blest  to  refine  thy  lord-like  brother-man, 
The  last,  but  noblest  of  the  Almighty's  plan  ! 
How  calm,  how  tender,  and  how  full  of  love, 
An  earthly  angel  sent  him  from  above ; — 
A  being  in  whose  soft  expressive  eyes 
We  read  the  light,  the  language  of  the  skies ! 


j-YVjiiAT  time  the  dulcet  accents  of  thy  voice 
Mine  ear  receives,  they  make  my  heart  rejoice; 
What  time  I  see  thy  graceful  form  divine, 
I  feel  in  truth  that  loveliness  is  thine ; — 
And  in  thy  smile  what  matchless  beauties  blend, 
Thou  chasten'd  gift!  thou  everlasting  friend  ! 

q£)Each  me,  ye  muses !  to  portray  her  praise 
In  words  of  living  fire,  that  burn  always; 


o* 


30  SILENT   LOVE. 

Let  me  unfold,  in  every  glowing  line, 
Some  charm,  O  woman  !  that  alone  is  thine ; 
Inspire  my  pen,  and  dip  it  in  my  heart, 
Let  not  a  thought  be  chill'd  by  rigid  art ; 
Chain  to  remembrance  all  my  bosom  feels ; 
Let  time  move  slower  on  its  viewless  wheels, 
Till  all  is  writ  on  adamant,  to  stand 
So  long  as  light  illumes  my  native  land  ! 

(tjj)  mainspring  of  domestic  love  and  joy ! 
Can  man  have  haunts  that  would  thy  peace  destroy  ? 
Can  any  pleasures  which  these  scenes  impart 
Float  with  such  genuine  feeling  round  the  heart  ? 
Can  gay  companionship,  or  false  desire, 
More  than  their  moment,  mortal  breasts  inspire  ? 
Ah  !  no — in  such  society  as  thine, 
Man  only  knows  where  truth  and  duty  shine ! 


SILENT   LOVE.  31 

To  thee  alone  belongs  the  siren  power 
To  keep  the  odour  in  life's  fading  flower; 
To  thee  alone  belongs  the  power  to  bind 
The  vernal  growth  of  glory  to  the  mind, 
And  man,  however  great  and  good  he  be, 
Soon  turns  a  blank,  if  once  he  turns  from  thee ! 

^S^ITH  what  ensanguine  words  shall  I  impart 
The  genuine  love  that  fills  the  mother's  heart ; 
That  fond  delight  which  glows  in  rapturous  joy — 
Nor  poverty  nor  sickness  can  destroy, 
When  the  first  artless  smile  of  love  is  given, 
Which  makes  her  baby  more  a  thing  of  heaven, 
And  on  the  dimpling  cheek  of  peachy  hue 
This  sign  of  recognition  meets  her  view. 

(&\§hen  cares,  like  age,  creep  o'er  us  and  destroy 
The  transitory  flush  of  hope  and  joy, 


32  SILENT    LOVE. 

Her  glowing  tear  of  sympathy  outvies 

The  spangly  dew  that  on  the  violet  lies, 

Distilling  purely  from  affection's  well, 

Where  all  the  pearls  of  dear  attraction  dwell. 

O  blissful  thought !  to  see  thee  smile  through  these, 

And  all  to  give  the  burthen'd  bosom  ease ; — 

O  more  than  sainted  sight,  far  more  than  earth, 

When  we  reflect  the  feeling's  genuine  birth — 

To  soften  man,  to  lead  him  from  his  care ; — 

To  wash  away  the  stains  of  dark  despair ; — 

To  reconcile  his  bosom  to  his  fate, 

O  this  is  surely,  truly,  being  great ! 

(Tp  thy  heart  gay,  what  can  with  thee  compare  ? 
What  votive  transports  make  thee  still  more  fair  ? 
Can  the  vermilion  add  a  sweeter  hue, 
Or  art  excel  where  all  is  purely  true  ? 


SILENT    LOVE.  33 

Can  wealth  or  earthly  vanities  inspire, 
Where  love  has  set  the  vestal  heart  on  fin".' 
Careless  alike  of  their  too  mean  control, 
Heaven  holds  a  higher  banquet  in  the  soul ! 
And  Nature,  as  at  first,  free,  undefined, 
Makes  thee  again  as  sinless  as  a  child  ! 

(gjOES  man  desert  thee,  turn  and  love  no  more ; 
Is  thy  soft  passion  then  as  fleetly  o'er  ? — 
Ah,  no !     Is  there  in  yonder  varied  bower 
A  fragile  plant,  a  winter-breathing  flower, 
That,  by  degrees,  droops  into  pale  decay, 
And  wanes  in  silent  loneliness  away  ? 
E'en  so  fade  hopes  and  happiness  in  thee — 
Emblem  of  spring — heir  of  eternity ! 

jgHiE  was  the  heroine,  then,  of  every  tale 

That  flush'd  my  cheek,  or  made  it  sickly  pale; 
b*  c 


34  SILENT   LOVE. 

In  dreams  I  saw  her  vision'd  forth  in  joy, 

And  felt  as  young  and  buoyant  as  a  boy  ! 

Heard  her  discourse  of  future  joys,  and  tell 

How  much  she  loved,  and  thought  she  loved  too  well; 

Thus  fancy  ever  form'd  ideal  things, 

Till  I  could  hear  the  rustling  of  the  wings 

Of  beings  of  the  sky. — To  love  is  given 

A  power  to  feel  and  taste  the  joys  of  heaven ! 

Hear  with  new  ears,  to  see  with  seer-like  eyes, 

And,  phoenix-like,  from  fear's  pale  ashes  rise ! 


^hen  love  was  young,  the  gods  celestial  lay 
On  gold-tinged  clouds  that  hemm'd  the  skirts  of  day ; 
Gazing  in  glory  from  their  couch  on  high, 
A  misty  globe  seem'd  rolling  down  the  sky, 
And  on  its  disc  two  speck-like  forms  did  move — 
The  earliest  pair  wed  to  devoted  love; 


SILENT    LOVE.  35 

'Twas  Eve  and  Adam  wandering  hand  in  hand, 
The  sole  possessors  of  that  sphere-like  land  ! 

Inspiring  love !  who  shall  thy  powers  portray, 
Howe'er  unbless'd  thy  votaries  fade  away  ? 
Bridle  the  winds,  set  limits  to  the  sea, 
Bid  wandering  clouds  to  be  no  longer  free; 
Call  eagles  from  the  air  on  high,  and  bid 
The  hills  decay,  and  in  the  seas  be  hid ; 
Tell  Spring  it  must  not  bud,  and  Autumn  brown 
To  keep  its  leaves  and  throw  no  foliage  down  ; 
Bid  structures  rise  in  rows  at  thy  command, 
Without  materials  or  the  artist's  hand ; 
Teach  man  to  live  on  air,  and  rocks  to  fly, 
Tell  birds  no  more  to  roam  the  ambient  sky : 
Do  all  these  things, — when  ye  so  powerful  prove, 
Then  put  your  definitions  upon  love. 


36  SILENT   LOVE. 

(fo;0VE  framed  the  world,  and  love  created  man, 
Love  is  the  soul  of  the  infinite  plan ; 
Love  is  the  spring  of  every  glorious  deed, 
Love  makes  the  patriot  for  his  country  bleed  ; 
Love  is  the  bliss  of  every  Christian  mind, 
Love  makes  the  generous  to  the  needful  kind ; 
Love  makes  the  mother  o'er  her  infant  weep, 
When  death  has  closed  its  eyes  in  icy  sleep ; 
Love  bids  the  heathen  worship  at  the  sun, 
Where  truth  and  science  have  not  yet  begun  ; 
Love  made  famed  WTallace  like  a  lion  bold, 
When  she  he  loved  was  basely  slain  of  old ; 
Love  was  the  parent  of  the  tear  first  shed, 
When  gentle  Eve  beheld  her  Abel  dead ; 
Love  breathes  more  sweet  than  seraph  ever  sung, 
Its  accents  are  too  soft  for  human  tongue ; 


SILENT   LOVE.  37 

Love  has  its  sighs,  on  whose  fair  wings  is  borne 

A  beam  of  gladness  brighter  than  the  morn ; 

Love  makes  me  write  this  retrospective  lay, 

Whatever  readers  think,  or  critics  say  ! 

Hush,  then,  nor  deem  it  wisdom  to  be  free 

Of  love's  gold  links. — Xo  man  e'er  loved  like  me  ! 

(U.  !  wherefore  then  in  anguish  pine  away  ? 
Thus  oft  mine  inward  monitor  would  say ; 
Why  not  declare,  in  words  not  yet  express'd, 
The  secret,  silent  sorrow  of  thy  breast? 
[t  shall  be  so,  I  boldly  would  reply, 
And  then  reviving  gladness  lit  mine  eye ; 
It  shall  be  so.    O  vain  !  O  weak  desire ! 
Dissolving  like  the  snow  when  cast  on  fire. 
Alas !  alas !  even  when  I  grasp'd  the  pen, 
I  felt  I  could  not  act  like  other  men — 


38  SILENT    LOVE. 

A  tremulous  feeling  shook  my  very  frame, 

I  could  not  breathe,  I  could  not  write  her  name. 

O  sad  resolve !  how  quickly  wouldst  thou  fly 

Upon  the  pinions  of  a  pensive  sigh  ! 

For  prudence,  when  it  rules  the  mind  aright, 

With  hope  and  doubt — alternate  day  and  night — 

Creates  a  fearful  feeling,  half  insane ! 

Which  dreads  the  merest  semblance  of  disdain ; 

This  wondrous  sensibility  of  mind 

Can  brook  no  look,  no  accent  that's  unkind  ; 

A  no,  instead  of  yes, — no  more  !  no  more ! 

The  very  thought  sends  poison  to  the  core ; 

For  this  might  to  the  sanguine  soul  convey 

A  dreaded  fate,  a  desperate  dismay, 

An  humbled,  an  abash 'd  and  startling  pain, 

That  might  no  more  be  curb'd  by  reason's  rein. 


SILENT    LOVE.  39 

Better,  O  better  far !  in  each  degree, 
Unspoken  wish. — No  man  e'er  loved  like  me! 

^)HUS  oft  I  long'd  to  tell  my  secret  mind 
To  some  dear  friend  whose  sympathies  were  kind, 
That  we  might  meet,  as  if  it  were  by  chance, 
Round  festive  board,  or  in  the  mazy  dance ; 
But,  oh  !  I  durst  not  speak  the  tremulous  tale, 
So  often  sigh'd  on  evening's  dewy  gale, — 
So  deeply  graven  on  each  page  of  life, 
The  source  of  all  my  happiness  and  strife; 
Yet  when  I  oped  the  guest-inclosing  door, 
And  tript  in  lightness  o'er  the  velvet  floor, 
I've  gazed  around  with  wild  and  wond'ring  stare, 
Perhaps  to  see  if  such  an  one  were  there ; 
Ah  !  then  my  anxious  spirit  would  grow  still, 
And  reason  reign  with  more  quiescent  will, 


40  SILENT    LOVE. 

For  what  I  long'd  so  much  in  joy  to  greet, 
My  timid  spirit  could  not  brook  to  meet. 
I  could  not  trust  my  heart,  full  well  I  knew 
A  sudden  glance  would  all  my  frame  subdue ; — 
Would  thus  expose  the  workings  of  my  soul, 
O'er  which  my  manhood  could  not  hold  control. 
She  never  came — O  strange,  O  weak  dismay  ! 
Thus,  day  and  night,  my  hours  stole  sad  away, 
For  ever  bent  on  one  engrossing  theme, 
Yet  all  uncertain  as  a  poet's  dream  ! 

$k)T  last  I  left  my  home,  went  far  away 
To  mix  with  crowds  of  strangers,  where  the  gay 
And  gorgeous  wheels  of  luxury  roll  along 
In  an  outvying  and  tumultuous  throng ! 
Where  painted  pride  and  mimicry  conspire 
To  peep  contemptuous  from  their  gay  attire, 


SILENT    LOVE.  41 

And  toys  in  artificial,  fund  display, 

Sleep  all  the  morn  to  gild  the  eve  of  day ! 

Lolling  in  soft  and  indolent  repose, 

As  if  the  poor  lack'd  none  to  soothe  their  woes. 

1 1  !  hearts  diseased  by  pride  and  fashion's  glow, 
Are  these  the  only  raptures  that  ye  know? 
Is  there  no  joy  in  cheering  lonely  hearts, — 
In  plucking  from  fell  poverty  its  darts? 
Is  there  no  aged  breast  by  want  subdued  ? 
Xo  flowers  to  spread  where  thorns  are  only  strew'd  ? 
Xo  sympathy,  no  gentle  hand  to  give 
To  woe- worn  wretches  who  scarce  care  to  live? 
Your  pleasures  cannot  charm  my  marvelling  eye, 
Go  teach  those  ones  to  smile  whose  life's  a  sigh ; — 
Go  ease  the  couch  of  death — of  deep  dismay, — 
'Twill  <rive  relief  when  earthlv  joys  decay. 

4* 


42  SILENT   LOVE. 

I've  sought  your  haunts  to  mitigate  my  care, 

But,  ah  !  ye  but  contrast  a  world's  despair ; 

So  hapless  beings  fly  to  banish  woe, 

Forgetting  'tis  within  where'er  they  go. 

Earth's  noblest  sights,  earth's  wonder-working  men, 

Cannot  obliterate  my  immortal  ken  ! — 

The  smile  of  peer  or  princess  has  no  power 

To  wile  my  loved  one  from  my  breast  an  hour ; 

In  every  changeful  scene,  O !  only  she 

Is  present  most,  and  holds  supremacy. 

(vD 

(fc)ONG,  long,  I  wander'd  'mid  the  gay  and  fair, 

Striving  to  seem  the  happiest  mortal  there; — 

Striving  to  soothe  my  sad,  my  chequer'd  life, 

And  thus  extract  sweet  comfort  from  my  strife. 

Alas !  they  knew  not,  when  they  saw  me  smile, 

Another  charmer  charm'd  me  all  the  while. 


SILENT    LOVE.  43 

I  wore  her  beauteous  image  in  my  soul ; 
Through  every  thought  the  dear  enchantment  stole ! 
Through  every  vein  I  felt  her  being  move, 
Inhaled  her  spirit  and  exhaled  her  love ! 
The  dreamy  cup  I  drank  of  sparkling  hope, 
And  suck'd  it  still,  to  drain  the  latest  drop ; 
Deep  in  my  breast,  like  dew-drop  in  a  flower, 
It  lay  conceal'd,  but  gave  refreshing  power ; 
Till  high  enraptured  with  the  draught  divine, 
My  soul  dissolved  at  the  enhallow'd  shrine ! 

,  1  iK  >r<;n  poor  the  world,  yet  in  one  person  join'd, 
Beauty  and  wealth  more  often  meet  than  mind  ! 
But  she  was  mind  to  me,  an  endless  theme 
That  fed  my  day-thoughts  and  my  midnight  dream  ; 
The  joy  of  life,  from  which  I  always  drew 
Something  delicious,  something  ever  new  ! 


44  .  SILEXT   LOVE. 

Yet  absence  oft  brought  sorrow  o'er  my  mind, 
Like  dark  clouds  sailing  on  the  summer  wind, 
Till  lost  in  thought,  subdued  in  heart  and  speech, 

Unbroken  silence  countless  fears  would  teach ; 

■ 

And  then  they  said,  he  treads  his  native  hills, 
And  gazes  fondly  on  their  foaming  rills, — 
Sees  the  proud  eagle  in  its  heavenward  flight 
Towering  above,  'mid  clouds  of  storm  and  night ! — 
When  dark-soul'd  winter  o'er  his  cottage  hung, 
And  feeling,  hope,  and  life  itself  were  young ! 
Hears  downward  streams,  that,  as  they  glide  along, 
Have  all  their  own  and  most  peculiar  song ; — 
Draws  beauty  from  the  lakes,  health  from  the  breeze 
That  sails  the  surface  of  the  weltering  seas — 
Nor  love,  nor  art,  nor  sorrow  could  they  see 
In  all  my  acts. — No  man  e'er  loved  like  me ! 


SILENT    LOVE.  46 

1  ii ink  of  a  bosom  wrung  with  dec])  despair, 
Jictween  sweet  hope,  sad  doubt,  and  joy  and  care; 
Say  what  yon  will,  or  what  yon  would  have  done. 
Ye  speak  the  words  of  folly  every  one ! 
Say,  then,  could  I,  whose  boyhood  grew  in  love, 
Throw  off  its  chains,  and  all  its  charms  disprove? 
As  well  might  eagle  caged,  with  starry  eye, 
Assume  to  rise  in  gladness  to  the  sky ; 
As  well  might  captive  in  his  dungeon-cell 
Take  ease  by  purling  brook  or  heathery  dell, 
Or  mother,  weeping  o'er  her  only  child 
That  death  had  chill'd,  be  from  her  grief  beguiled, 
And  slaves  console  themselves  that  they  are  free 
While  irons  clank. — No  man  e'er  loved  like  me  ! 

ggET  deem  me  not  in  fancy  weak  or  vain 
In  echoing  forth  this  sad  pathetic  strain  ; 


46  SILENT   LOVE. 

'Tis  but  to  prove  what  love  can  still  deny, 
When  wealth  and  influence  would  affection  bny ! 
'Tis  but  to  show  the  sceptic  he  is  wrong 
In  saying  love  cannot  endure  so  long ; 
Exclaiming — all  is  madness — as  his  soul 
Has  never  known  its  magical  control. 
Think  for  yourselves — but  like  a  culprit  I 
Was  doom'd  for  her  to  live,  for  her  to  die ! 
She  bound  my  spirit  with  magnetic  chains, 
One  hour  of  bliss  was  mine  for  years  of  pains ! 
Yet  all  these  pains  were  mingled  with  a  charm 
That  could  the  world's  cold,  selfish  arts  disarm, 
Engendering  new  ideas  as  they  swept 
The  pensile  clouds  where  love  dominion  kept, 
And,  passing  through  Hope's  crucible,  refined 
The  ruder  thoughts  that  rule  the  common  mind ; 


SILENT   LOVE.  47 

I  would  not  lose  the  joy  for  all  the  pain, 
Though  doom'd  to  tread  the  rugged  path  again  ! 
Still  could  I  cherish  buds  that  bleakly  grew, 
Cast  forth  their  seeds  and  watch  their  growth  anew, 
For  I  had  given  my  heart  with  vows  most  true, 
And  if  I'd  had  another,  had  given  it  too ! 
Yet  in  my  grief  I  languished  to  be  free, 
So  strange  is  thought — so  weak  humanity ! 

paired  of  a  land  of  strange  and  selfish  men, 
I  sought  my  Scottish  mountain-home  again, 
And  when  I  leap'd  upon  the  rock-ribb'd  strand, 
Methought  I  felt  the  pressure  of  her  hand — 
Methought  I  saw  her  smile,  and  heard  her  say — 
Welcome,  O !  welcome,  wherefore  did  ye  stray  ? 
Speak  as  thou  wilt,  but  with  these  hands  I'll  bind 
Myself  to  thee,  and  know  thy  inmost  mind  ! 


48  SILENT    LOVE. 

0  then  I  breathed  the  burden  of  my  heart, 
Nor  longer  seal'd  my  soul,  while  at  each  part 
She  hung  her  head  and  answer'd  to  my  sighs 
With  tears  of  love  depending  from  her  eyes ! 
Methought  I  kiss'd  her  cheek — O  heaven  !  what  joy, 
After  a  winter  of  prolong'd  alloy — 

Methought  I  clasp'd  her  gently  in  my  arms, 
And  in  their  folds  embraced  a  world  of  charms ! 

1  heard  her  voice,  'twas  soft  and  silvery  clear, 
Like  angel's  accents  steal  upon  mine  ear, — 

I  gazed  with  transport  in  her  face  so  fair, 
And  love's  devotion  reign'd  in  triumph  there ! 
Anon  her  tears  would  flow  with  very  joy, 
And  then  my  heart  return'd  them  like  a  boy ! 
While  utterance  died  a  martyr  in  my  breast, 
And  what  I  long'd  to  say  was  unexpress'd. 


SILENT    LOVE. 


49 


<  )  soft  delusive  charm  !     0  vision'd  joy  ! 

Why  is  your  triumph  only  to  annoy? 

Why  is  the  path  of  love  so  wildly  high, 

With  rocks  and  ramparts  mingling  with  the  sky? 

Alas !  the  dream  was  short,  the  moment  gay, 

Yanish'd  too  soon  in  nothingness  away  ; 

For  when  I  reach'd  her  home  with  anxious  pain, 

Determined  thus  my  secret  to  explain, 

She,  she  was  gone,  gone  to  her  lasting  rest, 

The  generous  passion  wither'd  in  her  breast ; 

Gone  with  her  maiden-grief,  gone  ne'er  to  be — 

And  yet  I  live. — O  piteous  destiny ! 

rArXD  yet  I  live  to  personate  my  woe, 

A  lingering  shadow,  moving  to  and  fro  ! 

Live  still  when  all  my  earthly  hopes  are  fled — 

When  all  that  gave  enchantment  now  is  dead! 

5  I' 


50  STLENT    LOVE. 


Mark'd  more  by  grief  and  solitary  thought, 
Than  e'er  on  heart  of  hapless  mortal  wrought ; — 
Than  ever  thrill'd  the  plastic  mind  of  man, 
Whose  secret  might  cold  learning  cannot  scan  ; 
Sad  retrospection  striving  to  destroy 
The  autumn  of  a  life  that  else  were  joy; 
Hope  wither'd  like  a  flower  when  winter  chill 
From  arctic  regions  comes  with  direful  will, 
With  all  the  rooted  blessing  of  my  mind 
Torn  up  and  strewn  in  handfuls  on  the  wind  ! 
Time's  finger  hath  done  much,  my  silvery  hair 
But  partly  shrouds  a  brow  of  lined  despair ! 
But  sorrow  hath  done  more,  hath  sear'd  my  soul, 
And  writ  this  awful  history  on  its  scroll ; 
And  when  I  leave  this  earth  to  soar  on  high, 
O  may  her  spirit  meet  me  in  the  sky  ! 


SILENT    LOVE.  51 

<  I  may  we  then  declare  a  mutual  love, 

[f  spirit-  blend  in  harmony  above. 

In  firm  reliance  on  this  hope  divine, 

May  calmer  grief  and  holier  thought  be  mine! 

Al  v  tale  is  told,  let  all  who  read  the  same 
Forgive  its  faults — 1  ask  no  hetter  lame! — 
Forgive  the  ardour  of  a  love  sostrange, 
That,  'mid  all  other  changes,  knew  no  change; 
Mv  heart  is  lighten'd  by  this  honest  lav. 
And,  for  a  time,  has  thrown  its  load  awav. 
A  leaden  weight  that  lmt  too  sadly  bore 
A  vital  nicer,  eating  to  the  core. 
And  in  its  path  puissant  stole  along 
The  living  chords  that  whilom  thrill'd  with  song! 
I've  traced  my  love  from  childhood  into  age, 
And  mark'd  its  growth  in  every  echoing  page, 


52  SILENT    LOVE. 

"With  soul-felt  candour  only  as  my  aim, 

Which  ever  lives  through  endless  time  the  same ! 

O  may  your  loves  be  happier  far  than  mine ! 

Dread  not  to  worship  at  the  sainted  shrine ; 

Let  reason  guide  you,  look  for  sweet  success, 

Nor  sicken  at  the  tale  of  my  distress. 

Seek  truth,  be  faithful,  worth  is  more  than  gold  ; — 

"Worth  cheers  the  heart  when  other  charms  grow  old ! 

With  first  love's  joys,  O  may  ye  blessed  be. 

One  truth  believe — No  man  e'er  loved  like  me ! 


^^Itfe^ri 


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